III

TRAVELLERS (WITH ONE WHIST PACK)

DEAL out all the cards in packets of four, face downwards, so that the packets lie in three rows of four packets each. There will be one packet left over, which you place by itself above the board.

Now turn up the top card of this square packet, and having ascertained its value, place it under the packet which corresponds to that value. An ace will go under the first packet, a 2 under the second, a 3 under the third, and so on; a knave goes under the eleventh packet, and a queen under the twelfth. There is no place for the kings; so should one turn up from the spare packet, you discard it and try another. Should all four be kings, the game is a failure from the start, but this seldom happens. Having slipped your card under its proper packet, you then take up the top card of that packet and place it, as you placed the card of the spare packet, under the packet to which it corresponds in value. You then proceed in the same way with the top card of that packet, continuing the travels of the cards until a king turns up, which ends the round. You must now take another card from the spare packet, and begin the "travelling" again. Whenever you slip a card under its packet, it is convenient to turn it face upward. This is an assistance to the eye: it will enable you to see at a glance which of the cards have not yet "travelled," since these will still be lying face downward. Should the spare packet be exhausted before all the board-packets are complete, the game is lost.

Below is given an example of a game that has failed. The top card of each packet has been turned up, so that the reader may see what it is. Packets 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12 have been successfully completed. The last card played was the 6 of diamonds, placed under packet 6, and from the top of that packet was taken the fourth king — the king of spades. Further progress is now impossible: the cards of the spare packet have all been exhausted. Three aces are under the 5 of clubs in packet i, three fours under the 5 of spades in packet 4, the 10 of clubs and two fives are under the ace of diamonds in packet 5, three tens are under the 4 of hearts in packet 10.